Fergie paid his players the ultimate compliment by declaring their display one of the best of his 25-year reign, comparing it to Juventus in 1999, when they came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and reach the final.

"We've had some fantastic performances in Europe," said Fergie. "But I think it's certainly one of the best, yes.

"Juventus will always be high on the list but I think this ranks up there too.

"I was delighted. It was a top performance. Credit to the players and their belief in each other. It was a tremendous performance."

Goals from Ryan Giggs and Rooney in the 67th and 69th minutes have given United a seemingly unassailable advantage ahead of next Wednesday's return leg at Old Trafford.

And United became the first side in Champions League history to go through the entire knockout stage without conceding an away goal.

"Concentration is so important away from home," said Fergie. "We've found a way to play like this away from home in Europe in recent years and done really well.

"We seem to better way from home in Europe than anyone else We've had some fantastic performances.

"Our concentration, intensity and speed of passing was excellent. We're actually a bit disappointed we didn't take more of our chances, but overall we're delighted with the performance."

Despite such a formidable lead, match-winner Rooney refused to accept United had guaranteed their place in the Wembley final on May 28, with Schalke having beaten Inter Milan 5-2 away in the previous round.

"Schalke are a good team and we can't take them lightly," said Rooney. "We need to make sure we're professional and fully concentrated."

Giggs, who opened the scoring for United, said: "We knew that if we kept creating chances one would go in.

"Before the game we would have taken 2-0 but now we are slightly disappointed.

"We've got a tough game coming up at Arsenal on Sunday so the manager rotated and we're obviously pleased."